Biotabs Interview 💚🌱

DivineBuds420 1. Tell us a bit about yourself: who are you, where are you from, and what do you do outside of growing? Let us know who's behind the profile -hobbies, work, passions. My name is Samuel, I’m in my mid-30s and I come from Northern Germany, where I was born and raised, although I also have English roots. I grew up together with my two brothers as the middle child in a single-parent household. Since I was around six months old, my father spent most of his life traveling the world by boat and living in different countries, while my mother raised the three of us on her own in Germany. And honestly, I can’t speak about myself without mentioning her. She sacrificed an unbelievable amount for us, sometimes working multiple jobs just to keep food on the table, while somehow still having the strength and love to raise three chaotic boys with warmth, patience and compassion. Looking back, I truly believe she became my first and probably greatest spiritual teacher. A huge part of the person I am today exists because of her. Outside of growing, I’ve worked many different jobs over the years, but for the last 7 years I’ve been self-employed as a flooring installer with my own small company. Funny enough, this was never really the path I originally planned for myself. Back then I actually wanted to work at sea, but the market situation at the time made that difficult, so the apprenticeship as a flooring installer originally started more as a temporary solution. What began as a backup plan slowly turned into something I became very passionate about. I finished my apprenticeship with excellent results, shortened it by half a year, became a regional chamber winner and even received an award from the mayor at the local town hall. After that I gained experience in the field, attended master school and completed further qualifications before eventually becoming self-employed. Still, over the last years I’ve felt a growing desire for new challenges and different experiences in life. I’m curious to see where the journey will lead next. In my private life, I spend most of my time with my soulmate, partner and wife - all in one person. We both feel most connected to ourselves when we are surrounded by nature. It gives me a very special kind of inner peace that is hard to describe. Another form of meditation for me has always been drawing and painting, even though I sadly neglected that creative side a bit in recent years. We also love traveling, meeting people from different cultures and expanding our perspective on life. Some journeys are physical, others are more internal and psychedelic in nature — “traveling without moving,” you could say. Those experiences taught us a lot about ourselves, the world around us and helped shape and strengthen our character. And over the years, growing cannabis itself has become a very important part of that journey as well. It taught me patience, awareness, respect for nature and a completely different connection to the plant. Photo 1 Me (Samuel) standing next to one of our Silver Fox Auto phenotypes by Nomad Seeds. Silver Fox Auto became one of those rare strains that truly found a special place in our hearts. Unfortunately, the breeder is no longer around, which means these genetics are no longer available today. Looking back, that makes memories like this even more valuable. (And yes, the smiley was added on purpose — some things are still better kept a little mysterious.) Photo 2 My wife Linda standing next to the second Silver Fox Auto phenotype from the same grow. One strain, two very different expressions. Discovering and comparing different phenotypes is one of the things I enjoy most about growing. Every plant tells its own story. The smileys might hide our faces, but they definitely don't hide how proud we were of these plants.

DivineBuds420 2. How did you get into growing? Tell us about your very first steps. Was it chance, a friend, curiosity? How did it all begin? I think my journey into growing really began long before I ever planted a seed. It started with cannabis itself and the role the plant always played in my environment and family life. Cannabis was never treated as something strange or taboo around me. For many members of my family, it was simply a normal part of everyday life. You could say cannabis flows through my veins. I had my first direct experience with cannabis at a very young age while visiting my father in the Netherlands, where he was living at the time. I still remember the moment vividly. My older brother was already asleep while I sat on the couch with my dad. He asked me to hand him his “Blacky” — a black box filled with different strains, papers and smoking accessories. He rolled up some K2 and after taking a few hits himself, he asked if I wanted to try it too. Curious as I was, I obviously said yes. At the time I barely noticed any real effect, probably because I had no idea what I was even supposed to feel. But looking back now, that moment became the beginning of a much longer journey and connection with the plant. A few years later cannabis became a regular part of my social life and friend circle, and naturally my curiosity about the plant itself started growing as well. Back then, finding genuinely good cannabis at fair prices wasn’t always easy where I lived. Unfortunately, a lot of the cannabis and hashish available back then was low quality or even contaminated because many people tried to stretch their product for profit. You were often lucky if it was “only” mixed with sugar water or sand instead of more questionable substances like lead, Brix or even synthetic cannabinoids. There was a whole period where artificially enhanced “Haze” strains flooded parts of the market, and experiences like that probably shaped my quality standards and my desire to eventually grow my own clean cannabis more than anything else. Looking back, I was actually very fortunate with the people and sources around me, because that definitely wasn’t something you could take for granted at the time. Through family connections and people around me, I was lucky enough to get access to relatively good quality hashish and flower at a young age. Most of the time it was hashish from Morocco and similar imports, while really good flower usually only came in small amounts from local home growers. Because of those connections, I often ended up supplying and connecting friends and people around me as well. Looking back, the Biotabs slogan “Black Market Educated” actually describes that whole era of my life surprisingly well. Over time, the fascination slowly shifted from simply consuming cannabis to understanding the plant itself and eventually learning how to cultivate my own. Not long after that came the first cultivation attempts. We planted random hemp seeds from bird food mixes and, after that didn’t really work out, later a few bagseeds on a balcony with almost no equipment and very little knowledge. To trigger flowering, we manually moved the plants into a dark room every day to imitate a 12/12 light cycle. Looking back, it was all very improvised, but somehow it worked surprisingly well. The harvest was small, but honestly pretty decent quality considering how inexperienced we were and how little effort or equipment we had. Most of the time the plants were simply left alone and only watered occasionally when it hadn’t rained for a while. Even though I would have loved to continue growing and improving back then, the legal situation in Germany made things difficult. I could never risk putting my family — especially my mother — into legal trouble because of it, so the actual growing stopped for quite a while. Still, the fascination with cannabis culture and cultivation never disappeared. Even during the years where I wasn’t actively growing myself, I still spent time reading forums like grower.ch, learning new things here and there and talking with friends who were already growing. The interest simply stayed with me all those years. Then almost a decade later — which is also already nearly a decade ago now — I finally started my first real indoor grow. At a friend’s place, I converted a small wardrobe into a stealth grow setup. I sealed and painted it, installed ventilation with a carbon filter, PC fans for airflow and built a custom LED lamp using Samsung LED strips mounted on aluminum profiles. A good friend of mine who works as an electrician helped me build the lamp — and funnily enough, he was also the same friend who supplied the Gelato cuttings for that first run. That homemade LED is actually still running today in my small 60x60 tent. The result of that grow honestly blew me away. At the time, it was some of the highest quality cannabis I had ever seen or smoked myself. That experience deeply strengthened my desire to sustainably grow my own high-quality cannabis long-term instead of depending on external sources. After the decriminalization of cannabis in Germany, I finally felt comfortable enough to start growing openly inside my own home — and I’m genuinely happy that I took that step. Photos Silver Fox Auto by Nomad Seeds, grown outdoors on our balcony in Northern Germany. This colorful phenotype was one of the most memorable plants we have ever grown. The combination of intense late-flower colors, structure and overall expression made her stand out throughout the entire run. Sadly, Nomad Seeds is no longer around, which means these genetics are not available anymore today. That alone already makes this plant something we look back on with a lot of appreciation. Interestingly, this plant also produced a small number of seeds. Whether it was a case of self-pollination or some accidental pollination from outside, I honestly can't say for sure. I still have those seeds stored away, and they carry the idea that maybe, in some form, a small piece of this genetics could one day continue.

DivineBuds420 3. What role does cannabis play in your life - personally and as a grower? Medicine, relaxation, creativity, passion - what does the plant mean to you? Cannabis has played many different roles throughout my life, and over the years my relationship with the plant has evolved more and more. Of course, like for many people, it started mainly as something recreational — a way to relax, unwind after long workdays, enjoy music, conversations, nature or simply fall asleep easier after stressful days or intense workouts. But over time, cannabis also became medicine for me. The moment where I truly realized its potential happened after a serious accident in which I almost lost my right arm. I had to undergo surgery and my arm was stitched up with 54 stitches afterward. After the operation, I was prescribed strong painkillers including morphine, but personally they didn’t react well with me at all. They made me feel mentally confused and uncomfortable, so I decided to stop taking them very quickly, even while still in the hospital. Ironically, I didn’t really have the kind of sharp pain those medications were supposed to suppress. What I mainly experienced was an intense throbbing sensation in my injured arm that pulsed with my heartbeat whenever I didn’t keep the arm elevated above my chest. The morphine didn’t really help with that feeling. One day, a friend visited me at the hospital, brought some cannabis and we smoked a joint together in the courtyard outside. I still remember the immediate relief I felt afterward. Not just physically, but mentally as well. The throbbing sensation wasn’t completely gone, but it was reduced so significantly that it suddenly became truly manageable again. That was the moment something really clicked for me and I experienced the medical potential of the plant firsthand. Because I had to wear a cast for a long time after the accident and couldn’t properly move my arm, the tendons and ligaments shortened over time and had to slowly be stretched again afterward. That whole rehabilitation process involved a lot of pain, physical therapy and mental exhaustion. Again, cannabis helped me tremendously after rehab sessions by helping me relax my body, calm my mind and recover more peacefully — body, mind and soul. Over the last years, my way of consuming cannabis has evolved as well. I moved away from smoking with tobacco to smoking pure, then later to vaporizing. And now I’m slowly transitioning more and more toward homemade infused oils and edibles, which will probably replace vaporizing almost completely for me at some point in the future. As a grower, cannabis taught me patience, awareness and trust in natural processes. Over time, growing stopped feeling like simply producing something to consume and became more of a connection — to nature, to the plant itself, to myself and to the present moment. Since I started growing myself, my relationship with cannabis has changed a lot. In the past, the main focus was mostly on consumption and smoking. Today, growing itself has become the real passion, while consumption slowly moved more into the background. It might sound strange to some people, but over time I developed a genuine emotional connection to the plants. Watching them grow every day, caring for them and guiding them through their entire lifecycle creates a very unique bond. That’s also why harvest day often feels emotionally conflicting to me. Of course there is joy, gratitude and pride for the journey, the experience and the final result. But before that, there is often also a certain sadness and melancholy, because something you cared for and connected with is coming to an end. In a strange way, growing cannabis taught me a lot about the duality of life itself. Today, cannabis is many things to me at once: medicine, relaxation, creativity, passion, inspiration, connection and self-reflection. Or to answer the question in a simpler way: all of it — and so much more. Photos Red Hot Cookies by Sweet Seeds (now also known as Red Hot Muffin), grown indoors — our first indoor grow after the decriminalization of cannabis in Germany. This grow marked a very special moment for us, as it was the first time we were able to grow openly in our own home under legal conditions. Seeing these plants develop under our own roof felt like a completely new chapter had begun. Everything about it — from setup to daily observation — carried a different kind of energy. Looking back, this run doesn’t just represent a strain, but a turning point in our journey as growers.

DivineBuds420 4. What growing method do you prefer and why? (Indoor/outdoor, soil/hydro, etc.) Share your personal approach and what led you to it. Honestly, the philosophy behind my preferred growing method is pretty simple: I always try to get as close to nature as possible. That’s why I strongly prefer growing organically in living soil instead of using synthetic nutrients or heavily artificial systems. For me, cannabis expresses itself best when the plant works together with a healthy living ecosystem instead of being force-fed. That approach simply reflects the way I personally connect with cannabis and nature in general. Indoors, we currently grow in organic soil using the BioTabs system combined with AutoPots for irrigation and RO water from our reverse osmosis system. Outdoors on the balcony, nature takes over a bigger part of the process with natural sunlight, rain and hand watering whenever needed. Unfortunately, both our indoor and outdoor space are quite limited at the moment. On top of that, the climate here in Northern Germany makes outdoor growing somewhat unpredictable and challenging at times. But if I could choose my absolute dream setup, it would honestly be something much simpler and even closer to nature. I would love to grow fully outdoors in a natural environment using only sunlight, homemade living soil, collected rainwater and natural homemade fertilizers made from things like compost, worm castings, fermented fruits, nettle ferments, chicken manure, bat guano and other organic inputs. Less technology, less equipment — just working together with nature in its purest form. That idea of creating a fully self-sustaining living ecosystem around the plant fascinates me deeply and is probably the direction I want to move closer to over time. At the moment, that kind of setup isn’t really possible for us yet — but life is unpredictable, and who knows what kind of opportunities and places the future might reveal. Photos Frisian Dew by Dutch Passion, grown on our balcony in Northern Germany. This plant left a lasting impression on us with its beautiful colors, rich aromas, generous harvest and beautifully balanced hybrid effect. There was something truly special about this grow — from watching her develop under natural conditions on the balcony to eventually experiencing everything she had to offer. It was one of those plants that naturally becomes part of your memory. Beyond the grow itself, this harvest was also transformed into hashish, MCT oil infusions and various homemade recipes. Almost a year later, we are still enjoying parts of this harvest, which continues to remind us of that season every time we return to it.

DivineBuds420 5. Which strain is the closest to your heart and what fascinates you about it? Do you have an all-time favourite? What makes it special to you? Honestly, this is probably one of the hardest questions for me to answer, because I genuinely don’t think I could ever choose just one favourite strain. There are simply too many beautiful and unique cultivars out there, all with their own character, effects, aromas and strengths. And honestly, that diversity is one of the things I love most about cannabis. Different strains fit different moments, moods and situations in life. For example, during the daytime I usually prefer something more sativa-leaning that keeps me mentally active, creative and functional, while stronger indica-dominant strains often make much more sense for slowing down and relaxing in the evening. That’s what fascinates me so much about the plant: every strain seems to carry its own personality and purpose. If I had to compare it to something, I would probably compare strains to colors. I could never choose just one favourite color while loving the entire palette — because only the full spectrum together is what allows you to create a truly beautiful painting. That’s why I honestly struggle to single out one specific strain. It almost feels unfair to all the others that made different moments in life special in their own unique way. Photos Ayahuasca Purple by Barney’s Farm, grown indoors. This strain had been on my radar for quite a while, and I always had the intention of growing it one day when the timing felt right. Then, almost a bit unexpectedly, things came together in a very natural way — I received a few free seeds of exactly this strain as a bonus with another order. It honestly felt like one of those small "coincidences" (which we don’t really believe in) that just fit perfectly into the journey. So instead of planning it for later, it naturally became part of the next run. In hindsight, it really turned out to be one of the best “freebies” I’ve ever had.

DivineBuds420 6. What has been your biggest learning moment as a grower - a mistake or a success that helped you grow? No grower is perfect. What has taught you the most? Honestly, one of my biggest learning moments as a grower was realizing that cannabis plants often do much better when you stop trying to control every little detail and simply let them do their thing. Sometimes less really is more. Especially in the beginning, many growers — including myself — tend to care a little too much. You want to help the plants constantly, give more nutrients, water more often and react immediately to every tiny change. But over time I learned that too much attention can actually create more problems than solutions. One of the biggest examples for me was watering. Proper watering is incredibly important and, in my opinion, also one of the most underestimated aspects of growing. Especially when plants are still young, overwatering or feeding too aggressively can cause a lot of unnecessary stress and problems. I definitely made those mistakes myself more than once. The best results for me came from learning to observe the plants more carefully and adapting to their individual needs instead of blindly following fixed schedules. A method that helped me a lot was watering based on pot weight. I fully saturate the substrate once without making it soaking wet, and then wait until the pot has noticeably dried out and lost a significant amount of weight before watering again. That approach taught me patience and helped me better understand the plant instead of constantly interfering with the process. Later on, the AutoPots take over a big part of the watering anyway, but learning this in the early stages changed my whole perspective on cultivation. I think that lesson goes far beyond growing cannabis. Sometimes growth happens best when you stop forcing things and simply create the right conditions for life to unfold naturally. Photos GMO Zkittlez F1 by Ethos Genetics, grown indoors. This strain turned out to be a real pleasure to grow and experience. The terpene profile is a very interesting mix between fruity sweetness and a strong gassy backbone, making it quite unique in its expression. One of the most fascinating aspects was how much variation there was between the different phenotypes — some leaning more towards the GMO side, others more towards Zkittlez — without making any of them less interesting. The seeds came into our hands through a rather unfortunate situation. We had ordered a rather expensive pack of seeds from T.H.Seeds, but unfortunately none of the 11 seeds germinated. After contacting the shop, they kindly offered us a replacement pack from their selection as a gesture of goodwill. Since the original pack was in a higher price range, we chose to stay in that category and came across GMO Zkittlez F1 Regular by Ethos Genetics. Having already been curious about Zkittlez ever since trying it in England, the decision wasn’t a difficult one.

DivineBuds420 7. What does your typical grow routine look like - how much time do you invest and what do you enjoy most? Routines, rituals, special moments in the grow room. Most of the time, checking on the plants is one of the very first things I do in the morning after waking up — and usually one of the first things I do again when coming home. Thanks to the very low-maintenance combination of BioTabs and AutoPots, the actual workload is honestly quite small most of the time. So instead of constantly interfering, I mainly spend my time observing, being present and simply accompanying the plants throughout their journey. And that’s probably what I enjoy most about growing. In a strange way, growing also reflects life itself for me. We spend so much time trying to control, optimize and force everything around us, while some of the most beautiful things simply happen when we slow down, observe and stay present in the moment. I love watching the plants develop day by day, discovering their individual differences, personalities and characteristics and seeing how each strain and phenotype expresses itself in its own unique way throughout the lifecycle. We are those slightly crazy plant people who talk to their plants and occasionally even play music for them. A big part of the journey is something I share with my wife as well. We constantly exchange thoughts about the plants, discuss which strain we want to grow next and share all the little details we notice along the way. Sometimes it’s a particularly beautiful leaf, sometimes a strange mutation or simply the fascinating aromas developing during flowering. It honestly became a running joke how often I hold my fingers under her nose and say: “Smell this… what does that remind you of?” For me, growing is much more than just producing cannabis. It’s an experience and a process that starts with choosing the next strain, continues through the moment the seedlings first emerge from the soil, evolves through flowering and the development of aromas, and finally ends with harvest day — which still always happens with one laughing and one crying eye at the same time. Photos RS11 and Pink Gelato by Kannabia, currently in the final stage of our ongoing grow. RS11 had been on my radar for quite a while, so I was very curious to finally run it myself. Pink Gelato also caught my attention, especially because I’ve had very good experiences with Gelato-leaning genetics in the past. These strains were kindly provided to us by Kannabia, with the opportunity to choose freely from their full catalogue. So far, both varieties have been very promising and have shown strong, healthy development throughout the grow.

DivineBuds420 8. What advice would you give beginners who are just stepping into the world of growing? Your most personal tip - what do you wish you had known earlier? I think the biggest advice I could give beginners is: don’t overcomplicate things and don’t stress yourself too much. Cannabis is called “weed” for a reason. The plant actually wants to grow, and many beginners run into problems because they constantly try to control every little detail instead of simply learning to observe and stay patient. That’s definitely something I had to learn myself as well. Sometimes less really is more. Not every small issue needs an immediate reaction, and plants are often much more resilient than people think. I would also say: don’t be afraid of mistakes. Every grower makes them, and honestly, some of the best lessons only come from messing things up once yourself. And maybe most importantly: enjoy the process. Don’t focus only on harvest weight or chasing perfect results. Pay attention to the journey itself, because that’s where most of the real beauty, connection and learning happens. Photos A small mixed selection of moments — including plant details, root development and daily routine in the grow space. Most of the images are fairly self-explanatory and simply reflect different stages and small observations.

DivineBuds420 9. How did you first hear about BioTabs and what made you want to try it? The story behind your first contact with BioTabs. During my very first indoor grow, I used nutrients from another company. Even though I was happy with the final results, the whole process felt unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming to me. I constantly had to measure, mix and feed multiple liquid nutrients every week, and at some point I remember standing there with what felt like more than ten different plastic bottles. Besides the amount of work, it also became relatively expensive over time. Even then I kept thinking: there has to be a simpler and more natural way to do this. Nature manages to grow plants perfectly fine without endless bottles and complicated feeding schedules. So before starting my next grow, I spent some time researching different organic approaches and eventually came across BioTabs. The whole concept immediately sounded like exactly what I had been looking for: a simpler and more natural system focused on building healthy living soil instead of constantly feeding the plant directly. The philosophy behind “Easy by Nature” immediately resonated with me because it perfectly reflected the direction I already wanted to move toward as a grower. Photos These photos are another great example of how much life and fertility can remain in a well-built organic soil. We regularly reuse our old cannabis soil for future cannabis grows as well as for houseplants, ornamental plants and edible crops instead of throwing it away after a harvest. In most cases, the substrate has already completed one or more cannabis runs and has been amended with the full BioTabs system. What continues to amaze us is how much vigor remains in that soil long after the cannabis plants are gone. Some of our balcony planters have contained the same recycled substrate for several years now without receiving any additional nutrients — only water. Despite that, the plants continue to thrive. Last year, for example, we grew Cosmos flowers that reached almost 180 cm in height and developed remarkably thick stems, even though the actual soil layer in the planter is only around 8 cm deep due to the built-in water reservoir underneath. We had never seen Cosmos grow to that size before. Nature also seems to appreciate the soil. Over time, various plants have found their way into these containers on their own and established themselves without any help from us. This year, a large Bird’s-foot Trefoil bush and a vigorous climbing vetch appeared naturally and developed beautifully. It is genuinely fascinating to see how much biological activity and fertility can still be found in a living soil long after its original purpose has been fulfilled.

DivineBuds420 10. How has BioTabs influenced your grow and what do you appreciate most about the product? Honestly, BioTabs completely lived up to my expectations. What I appreciate most about the system is that it truly reflects the philosophy behind the slogan: “Feed the soil, not the plant.” Instead of constantly trying to micromanage every feeding, the focus shifts toward creating a healthy biological ecosystem where the plant can naturally thrive. That approach fits perfectly with the way I personally connect with cannabis and cultivation in general. I also really appreciate the simplicity of the system. The “just add water” approach and the focus on dry organic amendments instead of endless liquid nutrients make the whole process feel much more natural and sustainable to me. Compared to many other nutrient lines, BioTabs uses very few liquid products overall, which not only simplifies cultivation but also reduces unnecessary plastic waste, transport weight and environmental impact. It might sound like a small detail, but I genuinely appreciate that more environmentally conscious approach. BioTabs simplified my entire grow process while at the same time improving the overall experience for me. It allows me to spend less time stressing about schedules and bottles and more time simply observing, learning and enjoying the journey together with the plants. For me personally, that’s what growing should feel like.

DivineBuds420 Before wrapping up this interview, I would like to thank the entire BioTabs team for giving me the opportunity to take part in this project and share a bit of my story. Putting these answers together made me reflect on my journey with cannabis, cultivation and the many lessons learned along the way. It was a nice reminder of how much this plant has influenced my life over the years. I would also like to thank BioTabs for their support and for creating products that align so closely with my personal growing philosophy: keeping things simple, working with nature and focusing on building healthy living soil. Finally, thank you to everyone who took the time to read through this interview and follow my journey. I hope some of my experiences, successes, mistakes and lessons can inspire or help other growers along their own path. Keep growing, keep learning and most importantly — enjoy the journey. Much love, Samuel Divinebuds420